The present invention relates to paper stacking systems and, more particularly, to a novel system for stacking fanfold paper, fanfold forms, and the like without the need for constant operator attention and through a system design that consists of no moving parts.
Paper stacking systems are well known and are utilized in a wide variety of applications. One typical application is that in which fanfold paper and/or forms are fed into printers and the like for printing data typically outputted from a computer, the data being outputted in a high-speed fashion. The paper is withdrawn from a supply carton and passed into and through the printer where printing takes place. The paper is then fed, typically in an incremental or line-by-line fashion, through an output slot in the printer in order to be stacked in a paper stacker or basket. Baskets are conventionally designed to stack a substantially large amount of paper. However, it has been found that the paper will not stack neatly, requiring rather frequent operator attention in order to realign the improperly folded paper. Even slight drafts or air currents within the room occupied by the printer equipment will cause such uneven stacking, resulting in the requirement for constant operator attention to straighten the stack. Testing has shown that conventional paper baskets allow the folding of three to five sheets of fanfold paper before intervention of a technician was necessary. Such constant attention necessarily prevents the operator from performing other, more important duties.
To date, the only techniques for assuring neat stacking are those requiring expensive mechanical paper stacking mechanisms requiring drive means and comprised of a large number of moving parts.